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Friday, December 21, 2012

Les Miserables

Review by Bob Ignizio

Even though convicted thief Jean
Valjean (Hugh Jackman) has served his time, he soon learns he is not
truly “free”. As he is told by inspector Javert (Russell Crowe),
Valjean will be on parole for the rest of his life, forever branded
as a thief by his identification papers. Not surprisingly this makes
getting a job or even lodgings difficult, and creates a
self fulfilling prophecy of sorts that the one time criminal will never be
anything but.

However, when Valjean gets caught after stealing from a church that had given
him sanctuary, the Bishop lies for Valjean. He tells
the arresting officers that he had given the loot to the man, an act
of kindness that sends the ex convict on a journey of redemption. LES
MISERABLES is the musical story
of that journey.

Valjean
breaks parole and sets about turning his life around under an assumed name. While doing so, he inadvertently
allows harm to come to single mother Fantine (Anne Hathaway). Once he
realizes what he has done, Valjean vows to take care of Fantine's
daughter Cosette (Isabelle Allen as a child, Amanda Seyfried as an
adult). Meanwhile, Javert crosses paths with Valjean once again and
recognizes him for who he is, vowing to make him pay the price for
breaking the law.

This
being a 2 hour and 40 minute film based on one of the longest novels
in history, let's just say there's a good deal more plot beyond what
I've already summarized. In additon, LES MISERABLES
is also a musical. And not one of those musicals were people talk
most of the time and then break into song every now and then. No,
this is more akin to opera, with just about every syllable being
sung. That may or may not be your cup of tea, I'm just giving you
fair warning.

Considering
how much singing takes place in the film, it's a good thing that most
of the songs are memorable and the cast is up to the task of
performing them. Hugh Jackman of course is well known for his work in
musical theater, but people forget that Crowe has considerable
singing experience as well, having fronted various rock bands since
the nineteen-eighties. These two get the lion's share of songs, and
acquit themselves admirably. And really, pretty much everyone in the cast does a good job with the singing. Even Sacha Baron Cohen as shady innkeeper Thenardier, who often performs in concert
with SWEENEY TODD
alumni Helena Bonham Carter as his wife.

The
film's central theme is the conflict between blind obedience
to the law and authority as exemplified by Javert with a more morally
relativistic philosophy that says sometimes one must break the law
for the greater good, as exemplified by Valjean. This was a
controversial notion when Victor Hugo wrote the book that inspired
the musical this film is based on, and it continues to be so to this
day – one need look no further than American politics to see that
is the case. LES MISERABLES
makes a fairly convincing argument in favor of a less black and white
view of good and evil, and may still ruffle the feathers of
those who see the world in more absolute terms.

Unfortunately,
there's a vapid love story thrown into the mix involving Cosette and
a young French revolutionary named Maurius (Eddie Redmayne). It's
love at first sight, of course, but we never really get a sense that
these two have any real connection. But we need a love story in a
musical like this, I suppose, and so we get one. Also undermining the
more serious ideas in the film is the ending, which tries to put a happy, all-singing, all-dancing spin on what is otherwise
a pretty grim tale. There is a far more satisfying, and in its own
way uplifting ending just prior to the final musical number, and it
would have been better had the movie ended there.

Of
course this film is an adaptation of a long running and highly
successful stage musical, and my gripes may well be inherent in the
source material. I haven't seen the stage production, nor read Hugo's
novel, for that matter. Whether you consider that an asset, as I can
view the movie on its own terms, or a detriment, as I have no way of
reporting on whether this adaptation is faithful or not to its other
incarnations which you may or may not have a fondness for, I leave to
you to decide. All I can say is that the film I saw, while undeniably
well made and performed, was kind of a dreary bore. 2 1/2 out of 4
stars.